Life line apparatus



LIFE LINE APPARATUS Filed Jan. 31, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 9, 1965 J. w. GARFIELD 3,216,030

LIFE LINE APPARATUS Filed Jan. 31, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I k l0 3 7 7 7 7 7 7 J. W. GARFIELD LIFE LINE APPARATUS Nov. 9, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 31, 1964 Nov. 9, 1965 J. w. GARFIELD LIFE LINE APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 31, 1964 Jacidson W United States Patent 3,216,030 LIFE LINE APPARATUS Jackson W. Garfield, Four Bay Road, South Hamilton, Mass. Filed Jan. 31, 1964, Ser. No. 341,516 4 Claims. (Cl. 914) This invention relates to life saving equipment and, more particularly, to a novel life line apparatus for use primarily with the bottom or hull portion of a small boat which has been capsized and is floating in water with the hull portion in an uppermost exposed position. At the present time there is greatly increased use of small boats of the outboard motor class and it is customary to equip these boats with outboard motors capable of propelling the boats at relatively high speeds. In the event that a boat so equipped strikes a submerged object or suddenly encounters rough seas, the boat may become overturned rather suddenly. Records indicate that there is a constantly increasing occurrence of such accidents. These boats are, in most cases, constructed with smooth hull portions of fibre glass or other plastic material. When capsized the hulls offer very little support to which boat occupants thrown into the water may cling until help arrives.

A principal object of the invention is to provide supporting means which may overcome the difficulty indicated and provide a supporting life line arrangement. In this connection I have devised a novel life line apparatus which is specially designed for use with the hull of an overturned boat of the outboard motor class.

In accordance with the invention, I provide a specially coiled life line having a series of spaced apart fixed gripping loops. The apparatus also includes coil retaining means on which the life line may be releasa'bly coiled at the inner side of a small boat and finally the apparatus includes anchoring ring means designed to be attached to the inner sides of the boat and to which either one or both of the life line extremities may be detachably secured when so desired.

The arrangement of these components in accordance with the invention is such that in the event the boat is capsized, the spaced apart snarl-resistant fixed coils of the life line fall away from the coil retaining means and float in the water at or near the exposed hull of the overturned boat in a position to be grasped by boat occupants thrown into the water accidentally.

The life line is furnished in a length chosen with relation to the hull dimension of the boat on which it is to be utilized. The life line with its fixed coils or gripping loops, when supported in the water, may be utilized in various ways. For example, the extended coils floating in the water may be used to receive a boat occupants arm or leg and prevent the person from drifting away from the overturned boat. More importantly, the free end of the coiled life line may be thrown over the boat hull to form, in eifect, a rope ladder at one or more sides of the boat. The free end of the rope may also be attached at an opposite inner side of the boat with the result that the loops may be used to support persons on the 'boat hull at either side thereof. In order for this arrangement to be realized, it is pointed out that the life line is constructed of a length which is chosen to correspond approximately to a distance measured from one side of the boat around the hull to the other side. With the ends attached, the life line is then firmly secured in a fully extended position and provides gripping loops at spaced apart points along both sides of the boat hull and thus allows one or more boat occupants to climb up on the boat surface out of the water.

In the event that the boat is of a relatively small size such as a small sailing dinghy, and the like, the life line may be used with one end attached to the boat gunwale to aid materially in righting the boat which has become capsized. This can be accomplished by a person holding the life line in both hands and applying rotative force against the underside of the boat. Various other uses are contemplated for the life line. For example, constructing a rope ladder for burning buildings and Various other situations.

The nature of the invention and its other objects and novel features will be more fully understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a small boat equipped with the life line apparatus of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross section taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view indicating diagrammatically portion of a boat hull in an overturned position with the life line shown being released from its retaining means in the boat;

FIGURE 4 is an elevation view illustrating diagrammatically the step of securing the life line over the hull of an overturned boat by an occupant in the water;

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view of a boat hull in an overturned position showing the life line apparatus in a fully secured and operative position;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary elevational view illustrating diagrammatically the life line used for supporting persons who have been thrown into the water;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary elevational view showing a portion of the life line and partly indicating progressively secured pairs of coils in a position normally assumed when in a stacked or coiled position in a boat;

FIGURE 8 is another elevational view showing the coil in an extended position and further indicating the relatively staggered arrangement of the fastening means for holding coiled portions to one another in a solidly anchored manner; and

FIGURE 9 is a cross section taken on the line 9-9 of of FIGURE 8.

Considering in detail the life line apparatus as illustrated in FIGURE 1 to 3, arrow 2 denotes a small boat of the outboard motor class which is constructed with a hull portion whose upper sides terminate in gunwales 6 and 8. The inside of the boat may be provided with a recessed deck portion 10 and seats 12 and 14.

In accordance with the invention, I provide anchoring ring means 16 and 18 which are secured against inner surfaces of the gunwales 6 and 8. If desired these ring portions may be pivotally mounted so that in the event the boat is capsized they will swing down into a depending position and thus made accessible to a person in the water. Immediately below the anchoring ring 18 I further provide a coil retaining member 20 also secured against the inner side of the boat as shown in FIGURE 2.

Supported on the retaining member 20 is the life line member L of the invention which includes a series of spaced apart fixed coils or gripping loops 30 and flexible connecting coil portions 32 which may be linearly extended. At the ends of the life line L are fastening members as 34 and 36 which are adapted to detachably engage the anchoring ring members 16 and 18. The life line is normally arranged in a vertically stacked position when the boat is in an upright position as suggested in FIGURES 1 and 2. In this position the life line is adapted to be instantly released when the boat is turned into a capsized position as suggested diagrammatically in FIGURE 3. The life line when released into the position shown in FIGURE 3 falls away into the water in which the boat is overturned and may be grasped by a boat occupant thrown into the water and thereafter tossed over the exposed hull portion of the boat as indicated diagrammatically in FIGURE 4. In FIGURE 5 the life line is illustrated in a fully extended and attached position overlying the hull 4 of the boat 2 and thus constituting a retaining member and rope ladder arrangement at either side of the hull.

An important feature of the invention is the particular coil arrangement of the life line L. Attention is directed to FIGURES 7 and 8 in which the life line member is shown in both a fully coiled and an extended position as may be more clearly seen in FIGURE 8. The life line is made up of a single length of rope such as a plastic rope, polyethylene or other fibrous material so that the coils will readily float in water. The length of rope is formed into a plurality of spaced apart fixed coils or gripping loops 30, 31, 33 and these fixed coils or gripping loops are connected together by flexible rope portions which when coiled will be of substantially the same diameter as the gripping loops when the line is in a fully coiled position.

Of further importance is the provision in each of the fixed coils or gripping loops of special holding means consisting of rows of stitches as S, S1, S2, etc. These rows of stitches are of rugged construction carefully designed to withstand stress resulting from supporting body weight on the life line at various points. The rows of stitches are, moreover, applied in a predetermined relationship to one another in order to provide a coil relationship which will facilitate coiling and resist snarling. This arrangement of the successive rows of stitches is best shown in FIGURES 7 and 8 wherein it will be observed that the rows of stitches progress from one fixed coil to another in a uniform circumferentially spaced manner such that the bottom stitch Sa in the row of stitches S occurs nearly opposite to the top stitch $111 of the row of stitches S1. Similarly, the bottom stitch Slb occurs nearly opposite the top stitch 82a of the row of stitches S2.

I have found by means of this predetermined circumferential spacing of the rows of stitches in the successive fixed coils, there is built into the life line a very desirable coiling characteristic which tends to induce the coils to always lie in the same coiled relationship and to resist any tendency for individual coils becoming snarled or tangled with others, particularly at the time the life line is released from an overturned boat.

I may also desire to employ a plurality of the life lines as shown in the drawings and, in particular, in FIGURE 6. The supporting means for the coils would be located 4 at various points along the inside of the boat as suggested in FIGURE 1.

While I have shown a preferred arrangement of the life line, it should be understood that changes and modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A life line structure for use in a boat and adapted to be coiled into tubular form for storage or straightened to form a linear structure with spaced fixed coils, said life line structure comprising equally spaced complete coils, each formed by arranging the line at equally spaced points along its length in more than complete turns to provide elongated arcuate overlapping portions, whereby each fixed coil partially includes a double line thickness, means securing the entire elongated arcuate overlapping portions together throughout the entire overlapping area to complete the fixed coil structure, the free line between each pair of fixed coils being equal in length to the line portion forming a fixed coil, whereby the assembly may be stacked in tubular form with alternate fixed coils and intermediate unconnected coiled portions formed from the line portions connecting each pair of fixed coils.

2. The structure of claim 1 characterized in that the life line structure is provided with fastening elements at each end for attaching the same in position.

3. A structure according to claim 1 in which the securing means for the overlapping portions consists of rows of stitches occurring transversely of the overlapping coil portions.

4. A life line as defined in claim 1 in which the securing means consists of rows of stitches occurring transversely of the abutting coil portions and said rows of stitches as they progress from one fixed coil to another occurring in a uniform circumferentially spaced manner whereby the fixed coils may be held in coiled relationship to resist snarling.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 283,439 8/83 Torst 182-70 411,161 9/89 Maynard 914 896,037 8/08 Neely 914 2,303,954 12/42 Roke 182-190 X 2,651,789 9/53 Newland 9-14 X FOREIGN PATENTS 311,103 5/29 Great Britain.

MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

FERGUS S. MIDDLETON, Examiner. 

1. A LIFE LINE STRUCTURE FOR USE IN A BOAT AND ADAPTED TO BE COILED INTO TUBULAR FORM FOR STORAGE OR STRAIGHTENED TO FORM A LINEAR STRUCTURE WITH SPACED FIXED COILS, SAID LIFE LINE STRUCTURE COMPRISING EQUALLY SPACED COMPLETE COILS, EACH FORMED BY ARRANGING THE LINE AT EQUALLY SPACED POINTS ALONG ITS LENGTH IN MORE THAN COMPLETE TURNS TO PROVIDE ELONGATED ARCUATE OVERLAPPING PORTIONS, WHEREBY EACH FIXED COIL PARTIALLY INCLUDES A DOUBLE LINE THICKNESS, MEANS SECURING THE ENTIRE ELONGATED ARCUATE OVERLAPPING PORTIONS TOGETHER THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE OVERLAPPING AREA TO COMPLETE THE FIXED COIL STRUCTURE, THE FREE LINE BETWEEN EACH PAIR OF FIXED COILS BEING EQUAL IN LENGTH TO THE LINE PORTION FORMING A FIXED COIL, WHEREBY THE ASSEMBLY MAY BE STACKED IN TUBULAR FORM WITH ALTERNATE FIXED COILS AND INTERMEDIATE UNCONNECTED COILED PORTIONS FORMED FROM THE LINE PORTIONS CONNECTING EACH PAIR OF FIXED COILS. 